Old Heroes Made Anew
by Yama0
Summary: He was an idiot. Picking a fight over some random maid? Stupid. Fighting a noble for this? Suicidal. And the gall to accuse her of not being a noble just because she didn't want to stick her neck out for some random commoner... and now, here he was, getting beaten bloody just to protect the weak and innocent... Louise de la Valliere sighed. She couldn't just leave him could she?


**Just an idea I had about an Overwatch crossover with Familiar of Zero. I didn't feel the need to include the summoning scene as I'm pretty sure most of us are already familiar with it.**

* * *

Another wet smack resounded across the field. Again her familiar was sent reeling back, dropping to the ground from his injuries. And once more her familiar picked himself back up, his expression bloody but no less determined than when he had started.

No one was laughing anymore. Even Guiche was somber as he once again ordered his Valkyrie to strike. How many times has this repeated now? Over a score at least and her familiar showed no sign of surrendering now.

Louise de la Valliere, master of the familiar being beaten bloody, wanted nothing more than to avert her eyes as the Valkyrie's bronze fist easily slipped past her familiar's exhausted defences. Yet she couldn't. The pink-haired girl was helpless as her familiar was struck down once more.

Despite his age and greying hair, her familiar was a massive man, by far more muscle than fat. A war veteran if the scars across his body was any indication. There was no doubt that if he managed to get close to Guiche, he would absolutely crush him with his weight alone. But Guiche de Gramont was the son of a general, he wasn't an idiot, or not that type of idiot anyway. Keeping his distance and using his bronze Valkyrie golems to do his fighting, her familiar stood no chance. And if she knew this, then her familiar had to know as well.

"Just stay down." Guiche said. The blond boy seemed genuine as he says. "For your sake, just give up. There is no shame in losing to a mage."

Her familiar slowly crept back up, his shaky legs standing firm as he stood back up. "Not... until you apologize."

"You can't be serious?" Guiche replied. "Do you even know that maid?"

"No... and that doesn't matter." Her familiar wheezed. Taking a deep breath, he took a fighting stance and charged Guiche.

This time Louise did avert her eyes as her familiar was sent flying. He was doing this for that maid? Really? She couldn't believe he was so hung up over her!

* * *

It had been lunch, within the Alviss Hall as always. She was seated across her familiar, who had somehow persuaded the Academy's faculty to allow him to seat with the rest of the nobles. Kirche von Zerbst was being annoying as usual and getting awfully close to her familiar. Too close for her comfort.

Just as she was about to scold them though, a ruckus broke out by the hall's main door. Loud enough to attract the attention of most the hall. She had paid it little attention, only just enough to discover what was going on.

Guiche had just been inadvertently caught two timing again. Some unfortunate maid returning a dropped gift from one girl right in front of the other. The twin slaps had echoed across the hall.

The blonde fop was, of course, quick to lay blame on the maid. Threatening to have her dismissed or something. It was probably just a bunch of empty threats and boasts though. Guiche didn't have the power to really do that. With the commotion settled, she had readily returned to her meal.

Her familiar had not. Instead, he eyed the exchange between the tearful maid and the crowing Guiche.

"Why does no one act?" he had demanded of her.

"Hm?" she hadn't paid attention then. She hadn't noticed the fury that was building within her familiar.

"The maid is innocent, the boy clearly in the wrong. Yet no one defends her. Why?" he had said.

She remembered shrugging and saying. "Why should we?"

Guiche was just doing this to try and restore some of his broken pride. She doubted he could really ruin the maid like he claimed. And besides, it wasn't her problem.

"You are a noble yes?"

"Of course." She was noble. That had been a ridiculous question at the time. Even if her magic abilities were in doubt, her birth was not.

He had given her a long, hard stare. Switching between her and the one-sided exchange, as if trying to urge her on. When she did not take action, he finally told her. "What nobles doesn't protect the weak?"

With that, her familiar stormed from his seat towards the pair. Herself being too surprised at his audacity to stop him.

She had no idea what her familiar and Guiche had said to each other. She did know it's result though.

* * *

"Just stay down!" Guiche loudly commanded this time.

"Never!" her familiar shouted back.

She needn't even look to know her familiar was once again picking himself back up to rejoin the fight. No. This wasn't a fight. This was just a beat down. There was no way her familiar was going to win this.

And all this for a maid? Louise quickly scanned through the crowd and couldn't find a single maid in the crowd. See! Even the maid he thought he was protecting wasn't here. This was all just pointless.

"Guiche just stop this already!" she shouted over the crowd.

Guiche turned to her. "Why should I-"

Anything else he planned to say was cut off as he caught a bloody fist with his cheek, a red grin on her familiar's lips. Only the bronze Valkyries quickly converging kept him from pouncing on Guiche's faltering form. Steadying himself behind a wall of Valkyries, Guiche shouted. "You bastard. Sneaking a hit on me while I'm talking?!"

Her familiar had no chance to retort as he was quickly overwhelmed. No longer holding back, Guiche's golems began their assault with renewed ferocity. With no more chances to recover, her familiar was backed into the corner. His arms raised protectively over his head as bronze fists rained blow after blow upon him. Already battered from their earlier exchanges, his defence was quickly faltering and bit by bit, the Valkyries attacks began to slip in.

"Guiche!" she screamed at him as the blood flowed from her familiar. "You'll kill him!"

"Don't worry!" Guiche shouted back, not daring another look towards her. "I won't go that far."

Louise clenched her hands as she watched her familiar get slowly torn apart by the torrent of blows upon his body. No longer limiting themselves to his arms, the Valkyries had surrounded him, delivering strikes to his sides.

This was all her familiar's own fault. If he hadn't tried to protect that maid, if he hadn't tried to fight Guiche, if he hadn't kept trying to protect...

Except it wasn't really his fault was it?

"Fireball!"

The bronze Valkyrie's and her familiar disappeared in a explosion of smoke and dust. There were cries of surprise from across the crowd as their view was obscured by plumes of black. Someone among the mages at least had the good sense to cast a spell to clear the smoke obscuring their view. What they saw shocked everyone, Louise herself included.

Her familiar was still there, his arms now laid down and just looking side to side in surprise. The bronze Valkyries that were conspicuously absent, the only evidence they were even there being her battered familiar and the bits of bronze limbs laying scattered across the field.

"Louise?" Guiche cried out in surprise.

Louise just stared back at him in silence as she took a position in front of her familiar. Her hand brandished in Guiche's direction.

"...Louise?" her familiar croaked in a hoarse voice racked with pain. "What are you doing?"

Louise didn't reply. To the crowd, she would appear firm, she may even be described as 'cool' as she stood as shield before her familiar. No one could have expected the 'Zero' to actually do anything.

In truth, she was overwhelmed with emotions. Surprise and fear being chief among them. She hadn't expected that to actually work. Sure it wasn't really a fireball but it worked! She just destroyed Guiche's golems with a spell! Her giddiness was short lived though as she remembered that Guiche could always make more and that by putting herself here, she was making him an enemy.

"What are you doing Louise?" Guiche repeated, more serious now. Even as he talked, he dropped a set of petals. Each of them expanding out to form the slender form of a new Valkyrie.

What was she doing? This was stupid. Taking out Guiche's golems the first time was a complete fluke with surprise on her side. There was no way she could do it again when Guiche was actually paying attention. She couldn't beat him. This was all her familiar's fault. The stupid idiot couldn't even fight for himself any more. But idiot or not, he was her familiar. What kind of master would she be if she left him like this?

She eyed the Valkyries circling her and felt a surge of fear swell in her chest as she recalled how painful it looked to be hit with metal hands. Praying that none of that fear reached her face or voice, she declared. "I'm standing in for my familiar."

"Standing in?" Guiche seemed surprised. "You can't be serious?"

"Dead serious." she replied, surprised at how calm she was sounding. It was all a bluff though. She could already imagine how a fight between her and Guiche would play out. The Valkyrie would speed to her and just knock her out with one punch. All she'd have done was buy her familiar some time.

Her grip on the wand snapped tight. Still... better to be hurt trying than avoiding pain with inaction.

Guiche met her gaze and hesitated. She wasn't sure if he was actually scared, she doubted it, or just wary of fighting another noble.

"Just apologize and admit you were wrong." Louise implored. Then they could all just walk away from this.

Again Guiche hesitated before shaking his head. Not another word from him.

Fine then. Jerking her wand away from him and at one of his golems, she shouted. "Fireball!"

Just like before the Valkyrie exploded and its form disappeared in an explosion of smoke. She swept her wand towards the other Valkyrie but it was already on the move. Its graceful form charging her at record speeds.

"Fireball!" she cried, doing her best to direct her wand at the golem.

Her best, however, was not good enough as the Valkyrie was unaffected by the explosion that went off to its rear. Not allowing her to get a easy bead on it, the Valkyrie moved in random zigzags.

"Fireball!" Louise saw the far wall go up in smoke and prayed that she hadn't damaged it even as the Valkyrie was raising its fists to throw its first punch.

"Fireball!" This time she swerved her hand downwards, aiming her wand at the ground before her and getting it just before it hit her.

The blast and its subsequent smoke forced her to take a step back, her hands raised to keep it from getting to her face. Did she get it?

Louise received her answer only a moment later. A bronze fist lashing out towards her from within the smoke. She had just enough time to yelp and shut her eyes in anticipation as the blow struck flesh.

She waited, and waited but the pain did not come. Daring to open her eyes, she caught sight of a burly hand clasped to the metal hand, the arm behind it straining.

"Reinhardt?"

Reinhardt Wilhelm returned a wild smile. He nudged his head in the direction of the Valkyrie. "Do it!"

Louise nodded. "Fireball!"

Reinhardt released his grip, throwing his arm back just as the golem was vaporized in her explosion. Louise raised her arm to cover her eyes as a wave of smoke overwhelmed the two of them. The blast actually lifting her a bit off the ground right into the waiting hands of Reinhardt who had been ready to catch her.

"Louise." Her familiar said, his voice clear now. "As soon as the smoke clears. Cast another one of those fireballs at his feet."

"What? Why?" She asked, looking upwards towards her familiars's voice.

"Cover." Reinhardt replied and comprehension dawned on her. There was no way that anyone could see through this smoke. Meaning that he could hopefully get close to Guiche without Guiche being able to retaliate properly.

Louise nodded and waited. Her hand trained on approximately where Guiche had been standing.

"And Louise." she heard her familiar say. "Thank you."

Louise cast a look back up to her familiar before turning her attention back to Guiche as the final threads of the smoke unraveled. "Just don't screw up." she replied, hiding the smirk underneath.

"Hah!" Reinhardt barked a short laugh. "Let me show you how it's done."

* * *

Guiche watched the smoke cloud that surrounded them unease, his wand held at the ready. With a quick command, he deployed the last two of his Valkyries ahead of him. Not too close to each other lest Louise blow another one of them up. If these two were destroyed then he would be left defenceless.

No. Not defenceless. With a quick incantation, he turned another petal into a sword that he wielded with his dominant hand. Even if he somehow gets close to him, he now had a actual weapon.

The smoke was clearing now and he drew wary. With another wordless order, he sent on his Valkyries to circle around the dissipating cloud of smoke. What were they going to do no-

"Fireball!"

The space in front of him flashed and detonated. Guiche retreated in quick steps, coughing and waving away some of the smoke with his hand. They were trying to blind him!

Already his Valkyries were on the move. Both of them to cover his retreat. Putting both of them in front of him. Hopefully that would put them right in the path of Louise and her familiar.

Bursting out of the smoke, he looked up just in time to catch the massive shadow bearing down on him. "Hiiii!"

He backtracked a few steps and readied his sword as the massive form of Louise's familiar bore down on him. All the blood and bruises dealt to him earlier seemingly having no effect on him in the slightest.

With the awestruck crowd behind him and the towering man in front; Guiche had little choice but to go forward. Swallowing down fear, he measured his blade against the man. His Valkyries were still active and he had a sword. All he had to do was last long enough for one of them to rescue him.

The familiar must have realised this as well as he crouched down low and dashed at him. Left with no other option, Guiche thrust his sword forward. He didn't expect to actually skewer the familiar. Any sane man would back off from being stabbed through the torso.

Gasps were heard when the familiar not only just refused to back off from but to actually meet the sword with his fist. With his right fist, the familiar struck at the flat of the blade, diverting the strike just enough over the large man's shoulder. With both sword and arm now wide over the familiar's shoulder, Guiche could only watch with terrified eyes as the familiar jolted back up.

A sickening crunch filled the sky and many onlookers turned away as Guiche fell to the floor, his sword arm bent ajar. Guiche just stared blankly at his broken arm before looking up as a shadow covered him, fear returning to his eyes.

The familiar stood over him, the sword now held in his hands at trained at his throat. A grim expression upon his face. "Surrender?"

"Behind you!" he heard Louise scream. True, behind the familiar, his two Valkyries galloped into a last ditch charge to rescue him, fulfilling the last orders he had given.

The familiar turned his head and watched them with complete calm. Then, once they were with striking distance, the familiar spun in one smooth motion. It had been so fast. The familiar's sword arm just blurred for one second and the next, his Valkyries were slashed apart.

Had be been holding back this entire time?

Once again the familiar turned his attentions back to him and Guiche cowered, raising his last good hand over his head in an attempt to shield it.

"Any more?" the familiar asked. His voice weary this time.

"N...no." Guiche gulped. "I yield."

"You will apologize to the maid."

"Yes. Yes, of course."

"Good." And with that the familiar threw the blade back down. The tip implanting the ground beside him. "I believe we're done then."

And with that, the giant of a man collapsed to the ground.


End file.
